Why do website developers insist on using light thin gray fonts?

Even this website falls prey to this issue. As I'm writing this, the fonts appear exceedingly light. Chrome is particularly notorious for this, while Edge does offer slightly darker fonts. But the burning question remains: why is this considered the standard across the industry?

My makeshift solution, to some extent, is to switch to dark mode. However, even then, the light fonts can pose a problem. And no, I'm not inclined to alter my Chrome font settings to counteract this frustrating and oblivious practice.

So that being said I do not see what you see.  I run standard fonts in FF.  Edit : The Website looks fine to me.

 

So the solution is not what you want so make look for a extension that will do what you want.  

 

Edit : Without being impolite but maybe glasses might help you.

 

As to how this will be a Discussion not figured that out.

Edited by Pkshadow, 13 May 2024 - 06:16 PM.

So that being said I do not see what you see.  I run standard fonts in FF.  Edit : The Website looks fine to me.

 

So the solution is not what you want so make look for a extension that will do what you want.  

 

Edit : Without being impolite but maybe glasses might help you.

 

As to how this will be a Discussion not figured that out.

Lol. Apples and oranges, Pkshadow. Did I state anywhere I am using FF? Without being impolite, stop trolling!  Stay on Truth Social and other sites bashing your PM. 

Edited by Hmm888, 13 May 2024 - 06:22 PM.

Hi, There is no need to use the Quote All box.  Just type.  If there is a need to use quote please use the Quote Tool in the Tool Bar.  Thanks.

 

There seems to be a misunderstanding :

 

I run standard fonts in FF.

 

Does the above seem to say anything about your use of FF ?   No.

 

You make assumptions that I am Trolling.  Sorry not so.  As a appointed BC Advisor on this Forum I do not troll.   Simple question was asked which I wanted to make sure was taken the right way.

 

When " I "  find sights using FF I use the increase page size tool (Reset Zoom Level) I have pulled out of Customize to be able to see things on the fly due to my eyes. 

Is there something in Chrome that does this fast and handy ?  I have never used Chrome so I would not know.

It would be useful if there is.

 

As someone that made pages at one time I do not know what the latest greatest minds think on the subject.

 

It would seem that your Question " Why do website developers insist on using light thin gray fonts"  dates back years examples found date 2009 :

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Why+do+website+developers+insist+on+using+light+thin+gray+fonts

 

It would seem there still needs a answer to that.

 

(I personally as well do not use Truth Social nor Troll my PM.)

Guessing the advent of mobile devices and cell phones has to do with changing the web page layouts and the fonts.

Not an issue for myself as I use a custom style sheet for Bolding and Anti-aliasing the browser's web pages Fonts. Makes the pages appear my way, not by the browser's selections, and it's easier for me to read.

A certain  amount of what you see depends on your Monitor and how you have it set-up.

 

For example: you might consider Dark Mode.

 

But, most of all, look at your monitor and its settings

I wished grinler woukd allow for dark themes in this board woukd be better for my eyes and others that are visually impaired.

A certain  amount of what you see depends on your Monitor and how you have it set-up.
 
For example: you might consider Dark Mode.
 
But, most of all, look at your monitor and its settings

Not in 2024. Back in the day smaller screens had problems. Now with 32 inch monitors and Windows controlling your display, we can't blame monitors unless the auto feature fails to adjust brightness and contrast appropriately. Although certain GPUs like NVIDIA have been known not to play nice with displaying text and despite changing the GPU settings it may not make much difference. 
 
However, the industry norm is for designers to be "lazy" and utilize already established software and plugins. Designers emphasize minimalism often prioritizing aesthetics over user experience, overlooking the fact tthat light fonts can be difficult for many people [with perfect vision] to view. This is not an opinion, but backed up by science. Many designers share the misconception that light fonts appear more modern or professional.
 
I use dark mode as much as possible, but sometimes even then the fonts are insanely light. 

Edited by Hmm888, 15 May 2024 - 03:54 AM.

Guessing the advent of mobile devices and cell phones has to do with changing the web page layouts and the fonts.

Not an issue for myself as I use a custom style sheet for Bolding and Anti-aliasing the browser's web pages Fonts. Makes the pages appear my way, not by the browser's selections, and it's easier for me to read.

My NVIDIA GPU has the anti-aliasing optioned greyed out for Chrome. What browser are you using?

Sorry Hmmmmmmmm. I'm pushing 80yo, and have glasses. I don't have your problem.

 

I would look at changing your Monitor's settings

Adding your own CSS works in almost any browser with an extension such as Stylus.

IE used to have this feature natively for including CSS but that is long gone, so did the old Opera browser before it turned in to a chrome clone.

Firefox used to be able to add a custom style sheet within the browser too,  but I haven't bothered to investigate this any further with the new browser engine, so just use an extension like Stylus for this.

 

Like this and add as a new style, and this includes changing color for links, font weight and mouse hover, but edit it as you like or want:

 

/* items MUST be listed in this order to properly work! */
/* links */
/* a:link {
    color: brown ! important;
} */
/* visited link */
a:visited {
    color: red ! important;
}
/* mouse over link */
a:hover {
    color: green ! important;
}
/* selected link */
a:active {
    color: purple ! important;
}
/* unvisited link */
href {
    color: brown ! important;
}
/* change font weight */
* {
    font-weight: bold;
}
/* items can now be in any order */
/* antiliasing fonts */
body {
    -font-smooth:always;
    -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
    text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;
    text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.004);
   }

 

Edited by 0lds0d, 15 May 2024 - 09:53 AM.

"But, most of all, look at your monitor and its settings"

 

True. There are  the Office or Movie or HDR or SRGB or various gaming modes of the monitor will affect the display of fonts and other details.

 

 

Firefox used to be able to add a custom style sheet within the browser too,

It is called usserChrome.css and/or Chrome  (name was in Firefox since Netscape days) and correct it is very hard to know what is supported and what gets broken the next update.

There was a Reddit post and some others that kept up. Not so sure no as well last remember was the need to go into about:config and change  : toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets = true

 

May also have to create the folder usserChrome and/or  Chrome. Beyond that I stopped collecting info.

 

last of my Firefox bookmarks for it 2017 : https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html

Even this website falls prey to this issue. As I'm writing this, the fonts appear exceedingly light. Chrome is particularly notorious for this, while Edge does offer slightly darker fonts. But the burning question remains: why is this considered the standard across the industry?

My makeshift solution, to some extent, is to switch to dark mode. However, even then, the light fonts can pose a problem. And no, I'm not inclined to alter my Chrome font settings to counteract this frustrating and oblivious practice.

What or how you see is not how it looks here.  Black but thin font, white background.  That's what I see.  I can only say that I wish the font were a little thicker.  Not need to be darker.

 

 

edit:  Windows 10, desktop and laptop, usually Google Chrome incognito mode

edit:  occasionally on Windows Vista through Supermium or Yan......

Edited by cafejose, 22 May 2024 - 06:57 PM.

"That's what I see.  I can only say that I wish the font were a little thicker.  Not need to be darker."

 

See Font Weight section in the CSS in https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/797289/why-do-website-developers-insist-on-using-light-thin-gray-fonts/?p=5644466

This will make the fonts appear 'thicker'.